Gertrude Abercrombie painting sells for $1.35 million after $30 estate sale find

An oil painting purchased for just $30 at a Michigan estate sale has sold at auction for more than $1.35 million. The work, titled ‘Alderman Merriam’s Shells’, was identified as a lost masterpiece by the celebrated American surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie.

Completed in 1951, the 8-by-11-inch still-life depicts ten seashells. The painting had been unseen by the public for nearly 75 years. It was originally gifted by Abercrombie to a doctor in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in exchange for medical services, before being passed down through the doctor's estate.

The buyer, an anonymous collector of mid-century furniture and records, discovered the piece in a dark corner of a hallway during a July estate sale. After noticing a faint signature, ‘Abercrombie, ’51’, the buyer verified the work’s authenticity by visiting the Milwaukee Art Museum, where an exhibition catalog featured a photo of the painting. The piece was subsequently authenticated by art history professor Susan Weininger and sold through Freeman’s auction house.